Systems and methods for automated vehicle following and regrouping

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for automated vehicle guidance based on coded lighting to enable automated vehicle following and/or regrouping. Systems use projectors to project temporal identifiers for space partitioned by pixel projections. Different space partition is associated with a different identifier. By using simple light sensors mounted on the vehicles, and decoding the sensed light signal, the vehicle can determine its precise location in the space relative to the coded light projector. This information may be used for precise vehicle guidance to enable vehicle following and/or regrouping. For vehicle following, the coded light projector is placed on a moving vehicle. For vehicle regrouping, the coded light projector may be placed on a ground or on a pole. Depending on the guidance precision requirements, the coded light precision may be adjusted by using light projectors with different resolutions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The disclosed embodiments relate in general to systems and methods forpositioning and navigation and, more specifically, to systems andmethods for automated vehicle following and regrouping.

Description of the Related Art

According to data from the United States Department of Transportation(DOT), the majority of freight moved within the United States istransported by truck due to well-developed highway networks andtransport flexibility. DOT predicts that the weight of shipments bytrucks will increase to 18,503 million tons by 2040 and that amount willbe over 67% of total weight shipments, see 2013 Status of the Nation'sHighways, Bridges, and Transit, United States Department ofTransportation. Based on this information, automating the truck deliveryprocess may have great impact for many businesses.

Conventional tractor-trailers are frequently used to maximize the amountof cargo that a truck driver can transport. FIG. 1 illustrates anexemplary semi-truck 100 with double trailers 101 and 102 that can beseen on many United States highways. Assume the front trailer needs togo from New York to San Francisco and the back trailer needs to go fromNew York to Las Vegas. An economical way to achieve this goal is to letthe double trailer truck to run on highway 80 from New York to Salt LakeCity. In a Salt Lake City Station, the back trailer will be taken offand hooked to another truck that goes to Las Vegas. The truck travelingto San Francisco may be added another trailer destined from Salt LakeCity to San Francisco. In this event, the original truck 100 willcontinue on highway 80 from Salt Lake City to San Francisco with twotrailers. Another truck will carry the original back trailer 102 fromSalt Lake City to Las Vegas. Because the double trailers 101 and 102 ortriple trailers are conventionally interconnected with mechanicalkingpins, human operators have to be involved to instruct each truck topark at a scheduled location, off-hook the back trailer 102, backanother truck to the trailer and on-hook the trailer to the secondtruck. Because mechanical connections among trailers are rigid and haveto be handled by human operators, it is hard to automate thetransportation and regrouping process. Moreover, connecting multipletrailers through rigid mechanical links may sometimes be hazardous onhighways, see Highway Safety and Truck Crash Comparative Analysis (byUnited States Department of Transportation Federal HighwayAdministration).

On the other hand, even though the new autonomous driving technologiesbased on LIDAR and computer vision as well as high accuracy mappingattracted a considerable amount of investment, the goal of fullyautonomous driving still cannot be achieved. Additionally, the systemsthat are aimed at implementing fully autonomous driving are all veryexpensive in the current state of the technology.

Therefore, in view of the above and other shortcomings of theconventional technology, new and improved systems and methods forautomated vehicle guidance are needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments described herein are directed to systems and methodsthat substantially obviate one or more of the above and other problemsassociated with the conventional vehicle guidance systems.

In accordance with one aspect of the embodiments described herein, thereis provided a vehicle guidance system incorporating: a mobile projectorconfigured to project a temporal projector light signal, wherein thetemporal projector light signal is encoded, for each pixel of theprojector, with an information segment including the pixel coordinatesof the each pixel of the projector; and a plurality of light sensors andan onboard computer disposed on a guided vehicle, the onboard computerbeing operatively coupled to the light sensors, wherein the lightsensors are configured to detect the temporal projector light signal andgenerate a plurality of sensor signals and wherein the onboard computeris configured to receive the sensor signals from the light sensors, todetermine a location information of the guided vehicle based on thedetected temporal projector light signal and to issue a guidance commandbased on the detected location of the guided vehicle to guide the guidedvehicle to follow the mobile projector.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on aleading vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on a rearof the leading vehicle and facing rearward.

In one or more embodiments, the light sensors are disposed on a front ofthe guided vehicle and facing forward.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicledetermines the location information of the guided vehicle by identifyinga projector pixel corresponding to at least one sensor signal of theplurality of sensor signals.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor and a second light sensor disposed on the guidedvehicle, the first light sensor and the second light sensor beingconfigured to detect the temporal projector light signal and generate afirst sensor signal and a second sensor signal of the plurality ofsensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle determines the location information of the guided vehicle byidentifying a first projector pixel corresponding to the first sensorsignal and a second projector pixel corresponding to the second sensorsignal and wherein the location information includes a distance from theguided vehicle to the projector.

In one or more embodiments, the distance from the guided vehicle to theprojector is additionally determined based on a distance between thefirst light sensor and the second light sensor.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to decelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is lessthan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to accelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is morethan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor, a second light sensor and a third light sensordisposed on the guided vehicle, the first light sensor, the second lightsensor and a third light sensor configured to detect the temporalprojector light signal and generate a first sensor signal, a secondsensor signal and a third sensor signal of the plurality of sensorsignals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle is further configured to determine an orientation information ofthe guided vehicle in relation to the mobile projector based on a firstprojector pixel, a second projector pixel and a third projector pixelcorresponding to the first sensor signal, the second sensor signal andthe third sensor signal, respectively.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to adjust a direction ofmotion based on the determined orientation information.

In one or more embodiments, temporal projector light signal isadditionally encoded, with a data segment including information onmotion parameters of the mobile projector or a command to the guidedvehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to decode the information on the motion parameters of themobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle from the datasegment and to issue an internal command to a propulsion system of theguided vehicle based on the decoded information on the motion parametersof the mobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle.

In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments described herein,there is provided a vehicle guidance system incorporating: a stationaryprojector configured to project a temporal projector light signal,wherein the temporal projector light signal is encoded, for each pixelof the projector, with an information segment including the pixelcoordinates of the each pixel of the projector; and a plurality of lightsensors and an onboard computer disposed on a guided vehicle, theonboard computer being operatively coupled to the light sensor, whereinthe light sensors are configured to detect the temporal projector lightsignal and generate a plurality of sensor signals and wherein theonboard computer is configured to receive sensor signals from the lightsensors, to determine a location information of the guided vehicle basedon the detected temporal projector light signal and to issue a guidancecommand based on the detected location of the guided vehicle to guidethe guided vehicle to perform regrouping.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on aleading vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on a rearof the leading vehicle and facing rearward.

In one or more embodiments, the light sensors are disposed on a front ofthe guided vehicle and facing forward.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicledetermines the location information of the guided vehicle by identifyinga projector pixel corresponding to at least one sensor signal of theplurality of sensor signals.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor and a second light sensor disposed on the guidedvehicle, the first light sensor and the second light sensor beingconfigured to detect the temporal projector light signal and generate afirst sensor signal and a second sensor signal of the plurality ofsensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle determines the location information of the guided vehicle byidentifying a first projector pixel corresponding to the first sensorsignal and a second projector pixel corresponding to the second sensorsignal and wherein the location information includes a distance from theguided vehicle to the projector.

In one or more embodiments, the distance from the guided vehicle to theprojector is additionally determined based on a distance between thefirst light sensor and the second light sensor.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to decelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is lessthan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to accelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is morethan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor, a second light sensor and a third light sensordisposed on the guided vehicle, the first light sensor, the second lightsensor and a third light sensor configured to detect the temporalprojector light signal and generate a first sensor signal, a secondsensor signal and a third sensor signal of the plurality of sensorsignals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle is further configured to determine an orientation information ofthe guided vehicle in relation to the mobile projector based on a firstprojector pixel, a second projector pixel and a third projector pixelcorresponding to the first sensor signal, the second sensor signal andthe third sensor signal, respectively.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to adjust a direction ofmotion based on the determined orientation information.

In one or more embodiments, temporal projector light signal isadditionally encoded, with a data segment including information onmotion parameters of the mobile projector or a command to the guidedvehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to decode the information on the motion parameters of themobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle from the datasegment and to issue an internal command to a propulsion system of theguided vehicle based on the decoded information on the motion parametersof the mobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the embodiments describedherein, there is provided a method for guiding an vehicle, the methodinvolving: using a mobile projector to project a temporal projectorlight signal, wherein the temporal projector light signal is encoded,for each pixel of the projector, with an information segment includingthe pixel coordinates of the each pixel of the projector; detecting thetemporal projector light signal using a plurality of light sensors of aguided vehicle and generating corresponding a corresponding plurality ofsensor signals; and using an onboard computer of the guided vehicle toreceive the sensor signals, to determine location of the guided vehiclebased on the detected the temporal projector light signal and to issue aguidance command based on the detected location of the guided vehicle toguide the guided vehicle to follow the mobile projector.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on aleading vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile projector is disposed on a rearof the leading vehicle and facing rearward.

In one or more embodiments, the light sensors are disposed on a front ofthe guided vehicle and facing forward.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicledetermines the location information of the guided vehicle by identifyinga projector pixel corresponding to at least one sensor signal of theplurality of sensor signals.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor and a second light sensor disposed on the guidedvehicle, the first light sensor and the second light sensor beingconfigured to detect the temporal projector light signal and generate afirst sensor signal and a second sensor signal of the plurality ofsensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle determines the location information of the guided vehicle byidentifying a first projector pixel corresponding to the first sensorsignal and a second projector pixel corresponding to the second sensorsignal and wherein the location information includes a distance from theguided vehicle to the projector.

In one or more embodiments, the distance from the guided vehicle to theprojector is additionally determined based on a distance between thefirst light sensor and the second light sensor.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to decelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is lessthan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to accelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is morethan a predetermined threshold.

In one or more embodiments, the plurality of light sensors includes afirst light sensor, a second light sensor and a third light sensordisposed on the guided vehicle, the first light sensor, the second lightsensor and a third light sensor configured to detect the temporalprojector light signal and generate a first sensor signal, a secondsensor signal and a third sensor signal of the plurality of sensorsignals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle is further configured to determine an orientation information ofthe guided vehicle in relation to the mobile projector based on a firstprojector pixel, a second projector pixel and a third projector pixelcorresponding to the first sensor signal, the second sensor signal andthe third sensor signal, respectively.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to cause the guided vehicle to adjust a direction ofmotion based on the determined orientation information.

In one or more embodiments, temporal projector light signal isadditionally encoded, with a data segment including information onmotion parameters of the mobile projector or a command to the guidedvehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer of the guided vehicleis configured to decode the information on the motion parameters of themobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle from the datasegment and to issue an internal command to a propulsion system of theguided vehicle based on the decoded information on the motion parametersof the mobile projector or the command to the guided vehicle.

Additional aspects related to the invention will be set forth in part inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Aspects ofthe invention may be realized and attained by means of the elements andcombinations of various elements and aspects particularly pointed out inthe following detailed description and the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing and the followingdescriptions are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intended tolimit the claimed invention or application thereof in any mannerwhatsoever.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification exemplify the embodiments of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain andillustrate principles of the inventive technique. Specifically:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary semi-truck with double trailers and thatcan be seen on many United States highways.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system for automatedvehicle guidance based on coded lighting to enable automated vehiclefollowing and/or regrouping.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system for automatedvehicle guidance based on coded lighting to enable automated vehicleregrouping.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an operating sequence ofthe system for automated vehicle guidance based on coded lighting toenable automated vehicle following.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an operating sequence ofthe system for automated vehicle guidance based on coded lighting toenable automated vehicle regrouping.

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) illustrate two temporal coded light signals andproduced by the projector.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an onboard computer of thevehicle, which may be used to implement the guiding techniques describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference will be made to theaccompanying drawing(s), in which identical functional elements aredesignated with like numerals. The aforementioned accompanying drawingsshow by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, specificembodiments and implementations consistent with principles of thepresent invention. These implementations are described in sufficientdetail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention andit is to be understood that other implementations may be utilized andthat structural changes and/or substitutions of various elements may bemade without departing from the scope and spirit of present invention.The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be construed ina limited sense. Additionally, the various embodiments of the inventionas described may be implemented in the form of a software running on ageneral purpose computer, in the form of a specialized hardware, orcombination of software and hardware.

In accordance with one aspect of the embodiments described herein, thereare provided systems and methods for automated vehicle guidance based oncoded lighting to enable automated vehicle following and/or regrouping.In one or more embodiments, the systems use projectors to projecttemporal identifiers for space partitioned by pixel projections.Different space partition is associated with a different identifier. Byusing simple light sensors mounted on the vehicles, and decoding thesensed light signal, the vehicle can determine its precise location inthe space relative to the coded light projector. This information may beused for precise vehicle guidance to enable vehicle following and/orregrouping. For vehicle following, the aforesaid coded light projectoris placed on a moving vehicle. For vehicle regrouping, the coded lightprojector may be placed on a ground or on a pole. Depending on theguidance precision requirements, the coded light precision may beadjusted by using light projectors with different resolutions.

In one exemplary embodiment, the described vehicle guidance system basedon the coded light provides an economical alternative to facilitate thetruck delivery automation. While the below description uses a truck asan example of the vehicle, it would be appreciated by persons ofordinary skill in the art that the described concepts could be appliedto many other types of land, aerial or marine vehicles such as droves,airplanes, barges, submarines and the like. Therefore, the inventiondescribed herein is not limited to any specific type or types ofvehicles.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system 200 for automatedvehicle guidance based on coded lighting to enable automated vehiclefollowing and/or regrouping. In the system 200 shown in FIG. 2, thecoded light projector 201 is deployed as a tail light on the back of aleading truck 202 and multiple light sensors 203 are installed in thefront of a guided truck 204. In various embodiments, the leading truck202 leads the truck column and may be operated by a human truck driveror by an autonomous vehicle driving system. In one or more embodiments,one or more guided trucks 204 are configured to follow the leading truck202 at a predetermined distance.

It should be noted that in FIG. 2, the light sensors 203 are enlarged tomake them more visible in that figure. With three or more light sensors203 in front of the truck 204 and different IDs for different projectionpixels of the coded light emitted by the projector 201, the system 200is capable of forming straight lines between light sensors 203 andcorresponding pixels and determining the pose (spatial orientation) ofthe truck 204 relative to the projector 201 by estimating the pose ofthe plane that passes through the three sensors 203 based on techniqueswell known to persons of ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary techniquesfor three point perspective pose estimation, are described in R.Harelick, C. N. Lee, K. Ottenberg, M. Nolle, Review and Analysis ofSolutions of the Three Point Perspective Pose Estimation Problem,International Journal of Computer Vision, 13, 3, 331-356 (1994), whichis incorporated by reference herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system 300 for automatedvehicle guidance based on coded lighting to enable automated vehicleregrouping. In the system 300 shown in FIG. 3, the light projectors 301are installed on light poles 302 in a truck regrouping station 303. Withthe poles 302 at fixed positions, the system 300 may estimate eachtruck's 204 position in the regrouping station 303 and use thosepositions to determine truck's actions such as “follow the previoustruck” or “stop at a certain location to wait for another leading truckto come”.

With accurate light-sensor-based truck pose estimation, the systems 200and 300 may use light rays to connect trucks 204 and use light rays fromfixed poles to localize a truck 204 in a regrouping station 303.Therefore, based on information provided by the aforesaid light rays,automated truck following and regrouping task may be achieved.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an operating sequence 400of the system for automated vehicle guidance based on coded lighting toenable automated vehicle following. First, at step 401, the lightprojector 201 configured to emit coded light is installed at the back ofa leading truck 202. In one embodiment, the projector projects the codedlight backwards. In one embodiment, each projected light pixel of theprojector 201 has a unique temporal ID.

At step 402, light sensors 203 are installed at the front of each guidedtruck 204. At step 403, temporal pixel IDs are encoded into the codedlight emitted by the projector 201. At step 404 the coded light emittedby the projector is received by multiple light sensors 203, whichgenerate the corresponding sensor signals. At step 405, the projectorpixel IDs are decoded using the aforesaid sensor signals. At step 406,the decoded pixel IDs are used to calculate the position and orientationof the guided truck 204 with respect to the leading truck 202. At step407, the guided truck 204 adjusts its direction of motion and/or speedto follow the leading truck 202.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an operating sequence 500of the system for automated vehicle guidance based on coded lighting toenable automated vehicle regrouping. First, at step 501, the coded lightprojector 201 configured to emit coded light is installed at the back ofa truck 202 and one or more of the coded light projectors 301 areinstalled on one or more poles 302 in the regrouping station 303. In oneembodiment, the projector projects the coded light. In one embodiment,each projected light pixel of the projectors 201 and 301 has a uniquetemporal ID encoded into the light. At step 502, light sensors 203 areinstalled at the front of each guided truck 204.

At step 503, temporal pixel IDs are encoded into the coded light emittedby the projector 201. At step 504 the coded light emitted by theprojector is received by multiple light sensors 203, which generate thecorresponding sensor signals. At step 505, the projector pixel IDs aredecoded using the aforesaid sensor signals. At step 506, the decodedpixel IDs are used to calculate the position and orientation of theguided truck 204 with respect to the leading truck 202. At step 507, theguided truck 204 adjusts direction and speed to either follow theleading truck 202, stop at a certain location in the regrouping station303 or perform a regrouping operation. In one or more embodiments,trucks 204 that park in the regrouping station 303 may follow othertrucks 202 or 204 to depart the regrouping station 303 based on anautomated schedule.

FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) illustrate two temporal coded light signals 601 and605 produced by the projectors 201 and 301. In one embodiment, theprojectors 201 and 301 are DLP projectors, well known to persons ofordinary skill in the art. The temporal light signals 601 and 605correspond to two different pixels 603 and 607 of the projectors 201 and301. The temporal light signal 601 propagating in the direction 602 isencoded with unique position information of the first projector pixel603 using a corresponding first unique sequence of temporal lightpulses. On the other hand, the temporal light signal 605 propagating inthe direction 606 is encoded with unique position information of thesecond projector pixel 607 using a corresponding second unique sequenceof temporal light pulses. In FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) the projector pixels603 and 607 are illustrated by their corresponding projections and on animaginary projection surface 604. The aforesaid first and secondsequences of light pulses are different and carry information about therespective projector pixel.

In various embodiments, the light sensors 203 may be luminosity sensors,such as photodiodes or phototransistors, which are well known to personsof ordinary skill in the art. It should also be noted that the exactdesign of the light sensors 203 is not critical to the inventiveconcepts described herein and any now known or later developed lightsensor may be used for detecting coded light from the projectors 201 and301. In one or more embodiments, these light sensors 203 are configuredto receive digital code modulated light sent by the projectors 201 and301 when there is no obstacle between the light source of the projector201 or 301 and the light sensors 203. In other words, the light sensors203 are configured to detect light pulses corresponding to specificprojector 201 and 301 pixel or pixels. On the other hand, the onboardcomputer of the vehicle may use the output of the light sensors 203 todecode corresponding projector pixel codes and determine the preciselocation of the vehicle in relation to the projectors 201 or 301.

As would be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art, becauseeach pixel of the light signal emitted by the projectors 201 or 301 ismodulated with a fixed and unique sequential (temporal) code, theonboard computer of the vehicle is able to determine its angularlocation relative to the projector when it receives a code from one ofits light sensors 203. In addition, because the correspondences betweenthe code embedded in the projector light and solid angles arepredefined, the onboard computer of the vehicle can use the receivedcode to easily determine vehicle's direction (heading) toward theprojector and adjust vehicle's drivetrain to move toward the projectordirectly. Based on the received code, the onboard computer of thevehicle can also determine codes in nearby spatial regions correspondingto neighboring projector pixels, through the predefined projectionpattern. In one or more embodiments, during the motion towards theprojector, the vehicle's onboard computer is configured to frequentlycheck the projector light code it receives using the light sensors 203.

Because the distance between the two light sensors 203 of the vehicle isfixed and known, the distance from the vehicle to the projector can becalculated based on the temporal projector pixel IDs received by therespective sensor. When the two light sensors 203 receive differentcodes from two different projector pixels, the angle between these twosensors 203 can be estimated based on the temporal projector pixel IDsreceived by the respective sensor. In one embodiment, the on-boardcomputer of the guided vehicle may be configured to continuously monitorand keep the aforesaid distance to the projector at a certain value orwithin a predetermined range. If the distance to the projector decreasesbelow a predetermined value, an acceleration command may be issued tothe drivetrain of the vehicle. On the other hand, when the distance tothe projector is determined to increase above a predetermined value, adeceleration command may be issued to the drivetrain of the vehicle.

In one or more embodiment, the aforesaid coded light signal may beadditionally modulated to carry additional information, such asinformation about the speed or other parameters of the motion, orcommands, such as stop (brake) command. In this embodiment, the codedlight signal would include a pixel ID segment with the pixel identifyinginformation as well as a data and/or command segment with theappropriate motion parameters and/or commands. The on-board computer ofthe guided vehicle would decode the data and commands and use thedecoded information to issue commands to the drivetrain or otherpropulsion system.

Exemplary Embodiments of Onboard Computer System

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an onboard computer 700 ofthe vehicle, which may be used to implement the guiding techniquesdescribed herein. In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer 700may be implemented within the form factor of a mobile computing devicewell known to persons of skill in the art. In an alternative embodiment,the onboard computer 700 may be implemented based on a laptop or anotebook computer. Yet in an alternative embodiment, the onboardcomputer 700 may be a specialized computing system, especially designedfor the vehicle.

The onboard computer 700 may include a data bus 704 or otherinterconnect or communication mechanism for communicating informationacross and among various hardware components of the onboard computer700, and a central processing unit (CPU or simply processor) 701 coupledwith the data bus 704 for processing information and performing othercomputational and control tasks. The onboard computer 700 also includesa memory 712, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to the data bus 704 for storing variousinformation as well as instructions to be executed by the processor 701.The memory 712 may also include persistent storage devices, such as amagnetic disk, optical disk, solid-state flash memory device or othernon-volatile solid-state storage devices.

In one or more embodiments, the memory 712 may also be used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during executionof instructions by the processor 701. Optionally, onboard computer 700may further include a read only memory (ROM or EPROM) 702 or otherstatic storage device coupled to the data bus 704 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processor 701, such as firmwarenecessary for the operation of the onboard computer 700, basicinput-output system (BIOS), as well as various configuration parametersof the onboard computer 700.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer 700 may additionallyincorporate two luminosity sensors 709 and 710 for detecting the codedlight signal generated by the projectors 201 or 301. In one embodiment,the luminosity sensors 709 and 710 have a fast response time to providefor high frequency position detection. In addition, the onboard computer700 may incorporate a drivetrain, marine engine control or flightcontrol interface 703 for controlling the motion of the vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the onboard computer 700 may additionallyinclude a communication interface, such as a network interface 705coupled to the data bus 704. The network interface 705 may be configuredto establish a connection between the onboard computer 700 and theInternet 724 using at least one of WIFI interface 707 and the cellularnetwork (GSM or CDMA) adaptor 708. The network interface 705 may beconfigured to provide a two-way data communication between the onboardcomputer 700 and the Internet 724. The WIFI interface 707 may operate incompliance with 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and/or 802.11n protocols aswell as Bluetooth protocol well known to persons of ordinary skill inthe art. In an exemplary implementation, the WIFI interface 707 and thecellular network (GSM or CDMA) adaptor 708 send and receive electricalor electromagnetic signals that carry digital data streams representingvarious types of information.

In one or more embodiments, the Internet 724 typically provides datacommunication through one or more sub-networks to other networkresources. Thus, the onboard computer 700 is capable of accessing avariety of network resources located anywhere on the Internet 724, suchas remote media servers, web servers, other content servers as well asother network data storage resources. In one or more embodiments, theonboard computer 700 is configured send and receive messages, media andother data, including application program code, through a variety ofnetwork(s) including Internet 724 by means of the network interface 705.In the Internet example, when the onboard computer 700 acts as a networkclient, it may request code or data for an application program executingin the onboard computer 700. Similarly, it may send various data orcomputer code to other network resources.

In one or more embodiments, the functionality described herein isimplemented by onboard computer 700 in response to processor 701executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained inthe memory 712. Such instructions may be read into the memory 712 fromanother computer-readable medium. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in the memory 712 causes the processor 701 toperform the various process steps described herein. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the embodiments ofthe invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 701 forexecution. The computer-readable medium is just one example of amachine-readable medium, which may carry instructions for implementingany of the methods and/or techniques described herein. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media.

Common forms of non-transitory computer-readable media include, forexample, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium,punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes,a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a flash drive, a memory card,any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which acomputer can read. Various forms of computer readable media may beinvolved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructionsto processor 701 for execution. For example, the instructions mayinitially be carried on a magnetic disk from a remote computer.Alternatively, a remote computer can load the instructions into itsdynamic memory and send the instructions over the Internet 924.Specifically, the computer instructions may be downloaded into thememory 712 of the onboard computer 700 from the foresaid remote computervia the Internet 724 using a variety of network data communicationprotocols well known in the art.

In one or more embodiments, the memory 712 of the onboard computer 700may store any of the following software programs, applications and/ormodules:

1. Operating system (OS) 713, which may be a mobile operating system forimplementing basic system services and managing various hardwarecomponents of the onboard computer 700. Exemplary embodiments of theoperating system 713 are well known to persons of skill in the art, andmay include any now known or later developed mobile operating systems.Additionally provided may be a network communication module 714 forenabling network communications using the network interface 705.

2. Software modules 715 may include, for example, a set of softwaremodules executed by the processor 701 of the onboard computer 700, whichcause the onboard computer 700 to perform certain predeterminedfunctions, such as issue commands to the drivetrain, marine enginecontrol or flight control of the vehicle for following or regrouping,see, for example, a propulsion control module 716 and a guidance module717.

3. Data storage 718 may be used, for example, for storing variousparameters, such as various parameters of the projectors 201 and/or 301,which are necessary, for example, for determining the distance betweenthe projector and the light sensors, see parameter store 719. Inaddition, the parameter store 719 may store various thresholds, such asdistance threshold for following the leading vehicle.

Finally, it should be understood that processes and techniques describedherein are not inherently related to any particular apparatus and may beimplemented by any suitable combination of components. Further, varioustypes of general purpose devices may be used in accordance with theteachings described herein. It may also prove advantageous to constructspecialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein. Thepresent invention has been described in relation to particular examples,which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather thanrestrictive. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that manydifferent combinations of hardware, software, and firmware will besuitable for practicing the present invention. For example, thedescribed software may be implemented in a wide variety of programmingor scripting languages, such as Assembler, C/C++, Objective-C, perl,shell, PHP, Java, as well as any now known or later developedprogramming or scripting language.

Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from consideration of the specification andpractice of the invention disclosed herein. Various aspects and/orcomponents of the described embodiments may be used singly or in anycombination in the systems and methods employing coded light toautomatically guide vehicles to enable vehicle following and/orregrouping. It is intended that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of theinvention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An vehicle guidance system comprising: a. amobile projector configured to project a temporal projector lightsignal, wherein the temporal projector light signal is encoded, for eachpixel of the projector, with an information segment comprising the pixelcoordinates of the each pixel of the projector; and b. a plurality oflight sensors and an onboard computer disposed on a guided vehicle, theonboard computer being operatively coupled to the light sensors, whereinthe light sensors are configured to detect the temporal projector lightsignal and generate a plurality of sensor signals and wherein theonboard computer is configured to receive the sensor signals from thelight sensors, to determine a location information of the guided vehiclebased on the detected temporal projector light signal and to issue aguidance command based on the detected location of the guided vehicle toguide the guided vehicle to follow the mobile projector.
 2. The vehicleguidance system of claim 1, wherein the mobile projector is disposed ona leading vehicle.
 3. The vehicle guidance system of claim 2, whereinthe mobile projector is disposed on a rear of the leading vehicle andfacing rearward.
 4. The vehicle guidance system of claim 1, wherein thelight sensors are disposed on a front of the guided vehicle and facingforward.
 5. The vehicle guidance system of claim 1, wherein the onboardcomputer of the guided vehicle determines the location information ofthe guided vehicle by identifying a projector pixel corresponding to atleast one sensor signal of the plurality of sensor signals.
 6. Thevehicle guidance system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lightsensors comprises a first light sensor and a second light sensordisposed on the guided vehicle, the first light sensor and the secondlight sensor being configured to detect the temporal projector lightsignal and generate a first sensor signal and a second sensor signal ofthe plurality of sensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboardcomputer of the guided vehicle determines the location information ofthe guided vehicle by identifying a first projector pixel correspondingto the first sensor signal and a second projector pixel corresponding tothe second sensor signal and wherein the location information comprisesa distance from the guided vehicle to the projector.
 7. The vehicleguidance system of claim 6, wherein the distance from the guided vehicleto the projector is additionally determined based on a distance betweenthe first light sensor and the second light sensor.
 8. The vehicleguidance system of claim 6, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle is configured to cause the guided vehicle to decelerate when thedetermined distance from the guided vehicle to the projector is lessthan a predetermined threshold.
 9. The vehicle guidance system of claim6, wherein the onboard computer of the guided vehicle is configured tocause the guided vehicle to accelerate when the determined distance fromthe guided vehicle to the projector is more than a predeterminedthreshold.
 10. The vehicle guidance system of claim 1, wherein theplurality of light sensors comprises a first light sensor, a secondlight sensor and a third light sensor disposed on the guided vehicle,the first light sensor, the second light sensor and a third light sensorconfigured to detect the temporal projector light signal and generate afirst sensor signal, a second sensor signal and a third sensor signal ofthe plurality of sensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboardcomputer of the guided vehicle is further configured to determine anorientation information of the guided vehicle in relation to the mobileprojector based on a first projector pixel, a second projector pixel anda third projector pixel corresponding to the first sensor signal, thesecond sensor signal and the third sensor signal, respectively.
 11. Thevehicle guidance system of claim 10, wherein the onboard computer of theguided vehicle is configured to cause the guided vehicle to adjust adirection of motion based on the determined orientation information. 12.The vehicle guidance system of claim 1, wherein the temporal projectorlight signal is additionally encoded, with a data segment comprisinginformation on motion parameters of the mobile projector or a command tothe guided vehicle.
 13. The vehicle guidance system of claim 12, whereinthe onboard computer of the guided vehicle is configured to decode theinformation on the motion parameters of the mobile projector or thecommand to the guided vehicle from the data segment and to issue aninternal command to a propulsion system of the guided vehicle based onthe decoded information on the motion parameters of the mobile projectoror the command to the guided vehicle.
 14. An vehicle guidance systemcomprising: a. a stationary projector configured to project a temporalprojector light signal, wherein the temporal projector light signal isencoded, for each pixel of the projector, with an information segmentcomprising the pixel coordinates of the each pixel of the projector; andb. a plurality of light sensors and an onboard computer disposed on aguided vehicle, the onboard computer being operatively coupled to thelight sensor, wherein the light sensors are configured to detect thetemporal projector light signal and generate a plurality of sensorsignals and wherein the onboard computer is configured to receive sensorsignals from the light sensors, to determine a location information ofthe guided vehicle based on the detected temporal projector light signaland to issue a guidance command based on the detected location of theguided vehicle to guide the guided vehicle to perform regrouping. 15.The vehicle guidance system of claim 14, wherein the projector isdisposed on a pole.
 16. The vehicle guidance system of claim 14, whereinthe projector is disposed in a vehicle regrouping area.
 17. The vehicleguidance system of claim 14, wherein the light sensors are disposed on afront of the guided vehicle and facing forward.
 18. The vehicle guidancesystem of claim 14, wherein the plurality of light sensors comprises afirst light sensor and a second light sensor disposed on the guidedvehicle, the first light sensor and the second light sensor beingconfigured to detect the temporal projector light signal and generate afirst sensor signal and a second sensor signal of the plurality ofsensor signals, respectively, wherein the onboard computer of the guidedvehicle determines the location information of the guided vehicle byidentifying a first projector pixel corresponding to the first sensorsignal and a second projector pixel corresponding to the second sensorsignal and wherein the location information comprises a distance fromthe guided vehicle to the projector.
 19. The vehicle guidance system ofclaim 18, wherein the onboard computer of the guided vehicle isconfigured to cause the guided vehicle to adjust a position and anorientation based on the determined location information and orientationinformation.
 20. A method for guiding an vehicle, the method comprising:a. using a mobile projector to project a temporal projector lightsignal, wherein the temporal projector light signal is encoded, for eachpixel of the projector, with an information segment comprising the pixelcoordinates of the each pixel of the projector; b. detecting thetemporal projector light signal using a plurality of light sensors of aguided vehicle and generating corresponding a corresponding plurality ofsensor signals; and c. using an onboard computer of the guided vehicleto receive the sensor signals, to determine location of the guidedvehicle based on the detected the temporal projector light signal and toissue a guidance command based on the detected location of the guidedvehicle to guide the guided vehicle to follow the mobile projector.